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Lineups for Friday’s homestand opener

Here are lineups for tonight’s game and some other notes as the Osprey host the Great Falls Voyagers in the first of a five-game homestand at Ogren Park Allegiance Field.

The broadcast of tonight’s game will begin at 6:50 on AM 930 KMPT as well as MissoulaOsprey.com. To be honest, not sure who will be the pre-game show guest, but I can tell you we’re on as scheduled both on the air and at the stadium.

Great Falls Voyagers

Overall: 23-13

Manager: Ryan Newman

No.

Player

Pos.

Avg.

HR

RBI

6

Michael Johnson

2B

.211

0

2

15

Bradley Salgado

SS

.268

1

6

22

Kyle Robinson

RF

.380

2

27

12

Brent Tanner

1B

.255

4

26

27

Yoandy Barroso

LF

.302

1

23

19

Zac Fisher

C

.256

0

4

16

Thomas McCarthy

3B

.288

0

7

10

Tyler Williams

DH

.169

2

5

1

Daruys Mercedes

CF

.215

1

9

18

Andrew Virgili

1-0

5.32

9-1

RHP

Starting Pitcher Stats

W-L

ERA

G-GS

Missoula Osprey

Overall: 17-19

Manager: Andy Green

No.

Player

Pos.

Avg.

HR

RBI

14

Pedro Ruiz

SS

.325

2

9

35

Evan Marzilli

CF

.361

0

6

18

Jake Lamb

3B

.331

3

21

7

Michael Perez

C

.314

5

26

19

Socrates Brito

RF

.264

1

18

17

Ty Linton

LF

.231

4

16

15

Justin Bianco

DH

.178

3

15

39

Kyle Koeneman

1B

.148

1

3

12

John Leonard

2B

.178

0

3

44

Chris Pack

2-1

5.13

7-7

RHP

Starting Pitcher Stats

W-L

ERA

G-GS

Umpires:

Home Plate

Clinton Vondraic

First Base

Mitchell Morgan

The Skinny:The Osprey open a five-game homestand with a three-game series against the first-half North Division champions, the Great Falls VoyagersLast Time Out:The Osprey capped off a 3-4 road trip with a series win over Orem on Wednesday. Ross Gerdeman and two relievers scattered eight hits, while the Osprey had big nights at the plate from Michael Perez and Breland Almadova as they beat the Orem Owlz, 5-2. The Osprey jumped on Owlz starting pitcher Baudilio Lopez in the top of the first inning. Evan Marzilli and Danny Pulfer each singled to lead off the game, and after a Jake Lamb groundout moved the runners up to second and third, Michael Perez launched a three-run home run to right field for a 3-0 Missoula lead. Missoula would add a pair of runs on a two-run triple by Breland Almadova with no one out in the top of the third to chase Lopez and give the Osprey a 5-0 lead. That would be enough for Gerdeman (2-2), who scattered six hits, a walk and a hit batsman while allowing just a run in six innings of work to get the win on the mound. Chris Capper allowed just a hit and a walk in two innings of relief, while Chase Stevens pitched around a solo home run allowed in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win. The Osprey had 13 hits in the contest, with the first six in the Missoula batting order – Marzilli, Pulfer, Lamb, Perez, Socrates Brito and Almadova – each had two hits, while John Leonard also singled for the Osprey.

Not afraid of lefties these days:One thought to be the kryptonite for a team full of left-handed hitters, the success level has grown for the Osprey against southpaw hurlers this season. The Osprey, in fact, are hitting better against lefties (.295) as a team than against righties (.274). And it’s paced by a handful of lefties in that regard – Michael Perez is hitting .438 against lefties (.257 against righties), while Evan Marzilli (.529 vs. left, .309 vs. right) also has a big swing against left-handed pitching – and both hit left-handed. Fellow left-handed swinger Jake Lamb is hitting either type – .324 vs. left-handers, .333 against right-handers. Switch-hitter Pedro Ruiz is also hitting a little better from the right side of the plate (.343) than the left (.317). Conversely, a pair of right-handed batters has handled righties better than lefties – Tyler Bream (.275 vs. right, .263 vs. left) and Danny Pulfer (.333 vs. right, .227 vs. left).

On the Mound Tonight:Missoula will send right-hander Chris Pack to the hill as makes his eighth start of the season. Pack (2-1, 5.13) has posted a pair of no-decisions in his last two starts – one decent (allowed four runs in six innings against Grand Junction in Saturday’s loss – and one not so much, allowing 10 hits and six runs in five innings against Orem on July 15. Pack’s ERA has jumped to 6.33 for the month of July, in four starts spanning 21 1/3 innings pitched. Two of his decisions have come against Great Falls – he’s 1-1 with a 7.15 ERA against the Voyagers.

The Voyagers will counter tonight with right-hander Andrew Virgili, who is making just his second start of the season. Virgili (1-0, 5.32) has logged 5 1/3 innings pitched in relief against Missoula this season, allowing just a run on three hits and three walks, logging a 1.62 ERA against the Osprey. In his first start against Ogden on Saturday, Virgili allowed four runs on five hits and five walks in just 2 1/3 innings pitched, with two strikeouts. Virgili has 23 Ks in 23.2 innings pitched, but also has 15 walks.

Stat of the Day:The Osprey have hit 22 home runs this season as a team – with 14 of those coming on the road. Only the 2005 squad has hit more HR on the road than at home since the team moved into Ogren Park Allegiance Field for the 2004 season.

By The Numbers:

Current Streak:

W2

Extra Innings:

3-2

Team Hitting:

.280

First Half:

17-19

Lead After 5:

11-4

PL Rank:

3rd

Second Half:

0-0

Tied After 5:

5-2

Team Pitching:

4.61

June:

7-6

Trail After 5:

1-13

PL Rank:

4th

July:

10-13

One-run games:

4-4

Longest Winning Streak:

3 games

August:

0-0

Two-run games:

2-3

Longest Losing Streak

6 games

September:

0-0

Three-run games:

4-1

HR total at home:

8

Score First:

10-8

+3-run games:

7-11

Pitching K total:

290

Score Last:

8-4

Shutout Record:

1-2

Pitching K/9IP Ratio:

8.10

D-backs Minor League Report/Osprey Alumni Update:

AZL D-backs

Alumni Briefing:The AZL D-backs are playing much better these days, but share a division with the top two teams in the league (Cubs 20-8, Athletics 19-9).

Record: 13-14

Next: vs. AZL Mariners

DSL D-backs

Update:The DSL D-backs have won seven of their last nine games since the DSL All-Star break, and are a half-game back of the DSL Rockies for first in the Baseball City Division.

Record: 27-18

SS-A Yakima

Alumni Briefing: The Bears won the Northwest League East Division First-Half crown, and have won two of three games to open the second half of the season. Josh Parr (2011) is hitting .226 with six home runs and 23 RBIs. Victor Acosta (2010) has been very good out of the bullpen, posting a 1-2 mark with two saves and a 1.40 ERA. Victor Capellan (2009) has also been solid, with a 4-1 record and two saves with a 1.90 ERA, fanning 30 batters in 23.2 innings pitched.

Record: 2-1. 23-18

Next: at Spokane

Class A South Bend

Alumni Briefing:Matt Helm (2009-10) is leading the way offensively for the Silver Hawks, hitting .274 with 28 doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 60 RBIs. The rest of the former Osprey crew is hovering the team batting average of .251, including Eric Groff (2010-11) and Ryan Court (2011), both of whom have recovered from slow starts to hit .262 and .263, respectively. On the bump, Andrew Barbosa (2012) has also recovered from a rough first outing, and is now 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA, and has struck out 16 batters in 15.2 innings pitched. Seth Simmons (2011) has been the steady force in the bullpen, compiling a 3-2 record with a 1.89 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched.

Record: 17-15, 52-50

Next: at Fort Wayne, with Jesse Darrah (2011) will make the start tonight for the Silver Hawks.

Class A Advanced Visalia

Alumni Briefing: The Rawhide have dropped eight of their past 10 games to fall out of first place in the California League’s North Division. Jon Griffin (2011) leads the team in power numbers at the plate – a .277 batting average, with a team-best 16 home runs and 66 RBIs. Ender Inciarte (2009) has been solid in the 30 games since his promotion to the Rawhide, with a .317 average, 14 RBIs and 21-of-23 in the stolen base department. On the bump, only Wily Perales has a better WHIP than Jeremy Erben (2010), who is 1-1 in 27 outings with a 3.24 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched.

Record: 17-16, 48-55

Next: at High Desert

Double-A Mobile

Alumni Briefing: The BayBears have lost 7 of 10 games as they get ready for the rest of the second half of the season and the playoffs. Rossmel Perez (2008) has been consistent all season behind the plate, hitting. 269 with 10 doubles and 15 RBIs. David Nick (2009) has been steady with a .264 average, 28 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs, while Chris Owings (2009) is batting .255 in 33 games with 10 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs. On the mound, the latest development on Chase Anderson (2009) is that he will be on an inning restriction the rest of the season, capped off at five innings per outing. Anderson is currently 3-2 with a solid 2.39 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.

Record: 13-20, 53-50

Next: at Mississippi, with David Holmberg (2010) gets the start tonight for the BayBears

Triple-A Reno

Alumni Briefing: The Aces have opened their lead up in the PCL Pacific North Division to 8 ½ games over Colorado Springs, and while they have quieted down a bit, the Aces, and the Pacific Coast League, is still paced in batting by Adam Eaton (2010) and Jake Elmore (2008). Their lead over the rest of the league has shrunk considerably (only 12 points separate Eaton from third place Justin Christian of Fresno), but Eaton (.376) and Elmore (.369) are still 1-2 in the league in hitting, runs scored and stolen bases, with Elmore ahead of Eaton in on-base percentage. Eaton is also tied for the league lead in doubles – with teammate Taylor Harbin (2007) third in two-base hits.

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